Zhong Wen: Matteo Ricci completed the first Latin translation of the Four Books and Five Classics in history, but regrettably, his translation was never published. It was not until seventy-seven years after Ricci’s death, in 1687, that the Jesuits, based on Ricci and other missionaries’ manuscripts, published the first Latin translation of Chinese classics, Confucius, the Philosopher of the Chinese (Confucius Sinarum Philosophus).

Even more significant than the work itself was Ricci’s intellectual spirit toward Sinology. He patiently studied China, studied the Confucian classics, and made important contributions to the dialogue between China and the West. His scholarly attitude influenced later missionaries who came to China as well as generations of sinologists.

It is important to note that Chinese civilization is a text-centered civilization. When Western missionaries arrived in China, they had to read the classics. If they could not understand these texts, they would have no way to truly understand the Chinese people with whom they lived every day. Therefore, many missionaries read large quantities of Confucian classics during their years in China—they read the Analects, Book of Rites, Mencius, and so on. Naturally, they also completed various translations. This was the beginning of missionary Sinology. In the process, these missionaries gradually discovered the unique Eastern wisdom contained in the Confucian canon. When these Chinese classics were translated into Latin, French, German, and other European languages, they objectively promoted the development of the European Enlightenment.

In the Analects, Confucius says: “The Master said, ‘Does Heaven speak? The four seasons move in their course, the hundred things are produced; does Heaven speak?’” This question concerns what might be called theology: whether Heaven manifests its power spontaneously. In the writings of the various philosophers, some thinkers proposed the concept of Heaven, while others used the concept of Dao throughout. The concept of Heaven contains two aspects:

It refers to Heaven’s Mandate or Heaven’s will, implying Heaven’s care for humans—for example, in the Book of Songs: “High above and far away is Vast Heaven; it is like father and mother to us.”

It refers to the maker of natural laws. The “Heaven” in “Does Heaven speak?” belongs to the second category, and the concept of Dao can be seen as a systematic elaboration of this second aspect.

Bo Ya: In today’s world, all of humanity faces common challenges—environmental crisis, war, terrorism, and so on. In the face of these challenges, Eastern and Western “wisdom traditions” each offer different solutions. “Wisdom” is a cultural resource; it is a holistic idea that encompasses philosophical thought, methods, and practical experience. Wisdom is a treasury of practical knowledge and conduct that enables us to respond to ever-changing environments and crises, thus ensuring our survival and well-being.

For example, Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, or Hinduism each has its own way of viewing the relationship between humans and nature. If we belong to any one of these traditions, understanding other traditions—or even just one of them—allows us to interpret our own tradition differently: we may see its limitations and also appreciate its strengths; we may borrow others’ approaches to reading their traditions to reinterpret our own. Ultimately, we gain a new understanding of our own heritage, and thus become better able to draw upon its resources to respond to contemporary environmental and global crises.